It wasn't until the rest of the 60th minute that the center back received his first card (for allegedly taking down Lagustavo behind his back), a scenario that highlights the effectiveness of the tactical layout.
However, relying on oneself to capture good opportunities should not be overlooked.
Obviously, you can't blame all the problems on the opponent. In the face of Pohang Ironman's half-time strategy of "letting the offense go", if Shanghai Port could have seized a few good chances to break through the goal, the opponent's tactics would have been too weak and ineffective. Unfortunately, at least three good chances were wasted, which made the opponents feel more comfortable. They preferred this kind of intense physical confrontation, making Oscar furious.
In this game, Shanghai Port's key player Oscar is getting tired, and has been showing signs of physical exhaustion since the start of the game. Oscar's strength would have been restored if the first half had been over. Unfortunately, they fell into a trap set by their opponents.
With Oscar's physical limitations, Shanghai Port's attack relied heavily on midfield passes to Gustavo, expecting him to create chances on the wings and from the second point. But unfortunately, it was inefficient.
Aside from the physicality issue, there is another major challenge, namely the perception of the competition by both sides. Pohang are comfortable adapting to the high intensity of the K-League; Shanghai Port are not. In the Chinese Super League, they have little problem. The overall strength is quite strong. Despite initial mistakes, the ability to adjust quickly and capitalize on chances remains excellent. In Korea, there was nothing to be done against a strong opponent. Mistakes were intolerable and the space for autonomous conversions was limited.
This also makes Oscar feel the pressure. Apparently, his control of intensity and success rate has dropped from "top of the Chinese Super League" to "top of the world".
Pohang fights back to take all three points
In the second half, Pohang gradually adapted to the rhythm and noticed the signs of fatigue in Shanghai Port. They sprang into action and turned on the offense, leaving Muscat helpless. After being almost overwhelmed, they quickly conceded points, with Wanderson dominating several chances, leaving Shanghai Port barely breathing.
The Pohang Ironmen have an interesting tactic that relies heavily on long passes to the center and teammates stepping in to create chances, which is a common strategy for physical teams. They excelled at both long passes and occasionally displayed precise footwork. In this regard, Shanghai Harbor was passive across the board, and the basic board was difficult to turn around.
In addition, after Shanghai Port's physical strength dropped, the pressure was reduced and Pohang naturally played more freely.
After Ruiza received the red card, the balance of the game was completely tilted in favor of Pohang, and Shanghai Port had no more chances to turn the game around.
